Wild winds in Turkey claim lives, close Bosphorus strait

ISTANBUL

Storm heavily battered several provinces in Turkey on Nov. 29 particularly in the Aegean and Marmara regions, killing at least four people in Istanbul and another one in the northern province of Zonguldak, disrupting daily life as well as ferry and sea traffic.

In Istanbul, where the gusty wind, reaching 130 kilometers per hour in speed, four people, including one foreign national lost their lives and 19 others were injured, the Governor’s Office said in a statement.

In the city’s Çatalca district, the wind toppled a clock tower, while some planes failed to land at the Istanbul and Sabiha Gökçen airports.

Fishing boats sank in the Pendik district and the Bosporus Strait was also closed to vessel traffic due to bad weather conditions.

In the province of Zonguldak, on the Black Sea coast, one construction worker was killed when a wall collapsed on him because of strong wind.

In the Karşıyaka district of İzmir, the country’s third largest city on the Aegean coast, the powerful wind up to 110 kilometers per hour created large waves, submerging a road along the seashore and the tram line and forced officials to halt ferry services.

The heavy wind also affected the other parts of the country, toppling trees, blowing buildings’ roofs, and causing material damage.

In the Ayvalık district of Balıkesir, four fishing boats capsized, and in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ, 10-meter-high waves battered the shore. Ferry services in the western province of Çanakkale also had to be cancelled because of the storm.

The State Meteorological Service issued warnings against adverse weather conditions for 52 provinces.